Page 85 - English for Writing Research Papers

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The use of although and however is the same as with whereas and on the other
hand , respectively.

original version (ov) revised version (rv)
The levels of cadmium in Site C The levels of cadmium in Site C were
were comparable to the levels found comparable to the levels found in Sites
in Sites A and B in the previous A and B in the previous years. However ,
years, although /however this was not this was not the case for the levels found
the case for the levels found in the in the south-east part of Site C.
south-east part of Site C.

Although can only be used in a two-part sentence, where one part depends on the
other. For example:

Although this book was written for non-native speakers, it can also be used by native
speakers.

In the RV above, although would not be possible because there is no dependent
clause.

Some link words are used to give explanations in the middle of a sentence such as
because, since, as . If you split the sentence, you cannot begin immediately with the
same link word.

because, since, as, in fact
Words such as since and although are often used in a subordinate clause at the
beginning of a sentence, as in S1 below.

S1. *Since English is now spoken by 1.1 billion people around the world and is used as a
lingua franca in many international business and tourism scenarios between people of
different languages and between native English speakers and non-native speakers, the
learning of foreign languages in the United Kingdom has suffered a huge decline .

The problem with S1 is that readers are forced to carry an idea in their head before
they understand how this idea relates to the idea in the main clause (in italics). It
would be much easier for readers to understand if S1 was split into two parts and
rewritten as in S2.

S1. English is now spoken by 1.1 billion people around the world and is used as a lingua
franca in many international business and tourism scenarios between people of different
languages and between native English speakers and non-native speakers. The conse-
quence is that the learning of foreign languages in the United Kingdom has suffered a
huge decline.